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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. row — to paddle
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. last — to go on
  6. snap — to click
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — the earth
  13. last — finally
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. fall — the season
  21. ground — a position
  22. wax — to grow
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. row — a line

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com